Never heard of a Fair Banding test before? No idea what it is? Or why your child has to do one? Don’t worry you’re not alone. Here at Victory Academy we have all the answers for you.
Don’t be fooled by the title, the Fair Banding Test is not a pass or fail. Rather it’s a method to make sure a school has children on the register reflecting the full range of all abilities under the local authority.
They are taken in Year 5 or Year 6 and are designed to make sure schools truly have a mixed ability, which means your child has a fair chance of getting a place at the school of their choice and with a wider social mix making it more accessible across the board.
Fair Banding is to assess a child’s level of ability and is used to help the school make sure they give school places to children of all abilities.
All applicants for places at Victory Academy will be banded according to the principles of fair banding, using the national profile.
Medway operate an equal preference system which means that parents/carers who intend to put The Victory Academy down on their preference form either first, second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth choice will need to take the Fair Banding Test, which will determine what banding group their child should be placed in for admission purposes.
Students who have not taken the banding test (apart from children in care and students with an EHC Plan where the Academy is named in the statement who must always be given priority) will be considered after children who have sat the banding test.
After the test children are put into bands based on their level of ability.
The academy is allocated students who have sat the fair banding test across five bands to make sure there’s a spread of ability across the school, and these are based on the national ability range decided by the
Their results are used to put them into an ability band, for example:
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The school will then offer places to equal numbers of children within each band to ensure they’re admitting an even spread of academic abilities.
We have a snapshot for you and your children to familiarise yourself with.
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No, being in a higher band does not increase the likelihood of a child being offered a place at the preferred school(s).
Banding is intended for the purpose of ensuring that a school achieves a balanced intake when it is oversubscribed. It is designed to be fair to all children, whatever their ability.
Parents are notified of the Band their child has been assigned at the beginning of the school year.
If your child does not take the test it may reduce their chance of being offered a place at a banded school (not including children in care and students with an EHC Plan where the Academy is named in the statement; these students are given priority) and they will be considered after children who have sat the banding test.
To register for the Fair Banding Test please complete the registration form available to download below or from main reception.
Children will not be able to sit the test unless the completed form is returned by the deadline. Please return the form to: Miss Reeve The Victory Academy, Magpie Hall Road, Chatham Kent ME4 5JB or email to admissions@thevictoryacademy.org.uk
All students wishing to apply for a place at The Victory Academy will be required to take a Fair Banding Test which is prescribed by GL Assessment.
Fair Banding Testing for September 2021 admissions will be held on:
Saturday, 26th September 2020 – DEADLINE for registering 4th September 2020
Saturday, 21st November 2020 – DEADLINE for registering 30th October 2020
We have now included two after school dates:
Tuesday, 13th October 2020 – DEADLINE for registering 18th September 2020
Tuesday, 10th November 2020 – DEADLINE for registering 16th October 2020
